Mobilestead Blog

With a background in finance – not in technology, and a limited understanding of incubators, I was unsure as to what to expect from “TechStars for a Day” even after studying the TechStars’ website (blog) and reading a number of blogs relating to it. So about a week ago, after it was confirmed that we were to attend this exciting event, I asked my partner, Ilya (a ‘tech’ guy with entrepreneurial experience), if he can give me an idea of what “TechStars for a day” will be like. He said, “Just picture lots of nerds, cramped into a room, exchanging interesting ideas, which will sound like a foreign language to YOU due to the terminology they will use.” I smiled, almost laughed and dismissed it off as a joke…

Fast forward to March 10, 2009 – Boston, MA, about 8:00ish AM – Ilya and I are sipping coffee and eating breakfast in the new TechStar Boston office, attending the exciting “TechStars for a Day” event. To Ilya’s amusement, and my surprise that he wasn’t kidding, I find myself in a cramped room, surrounded by lots of nerds, exchanging ideas – which probably would be interesting to me – if I could understand what they are!

With a little exaggeration, this is how one of the most amazing and interesting events I’ve ever attended, began… In all seriousness, all the entrepreneurs and fellow TechStars applicants that I met, were not that nerdy and had awesome and innovative ideas, which were relayed in simple language and with passion.

Now about the “TechStars for a Day” full experience… Well for starters, I’m still in awe of Shawn’s (blog), David’s (blog) and Brad’s (blog) and accomplishments and their modesty that goes along with it. Just to be in the same room with these incredibly successful entrepreneurs, pure geniuses, oh – and most importantly innate, charismatic comedians, is a complete honor. The program which they prepared for us was fun, educational, valuable and stimulating. Their laid back style along with the informality of the program’s setup, made us feel comfortable and very welcome.

It was so interesting to learn about the TechStars program, their founders’ accomplishments and meet all the impressive (which is an understatement) mentors who take part in the program. All the sessions were very informative and beneficial; especially the Q&A with previous TechStars “graduates” who shared their stories with us, and graciously thanked TechStars for the current success of their companies. The atmosphere was filled with entrepreneurship, innovation, motivation and encouragement. Ilya and I are fortunate that we were invited to such an exciting event and got a chance to experience the cool vibe of TechStars. We are now more passionate than ever, more driven than ever, and are working on Mobilestead more diligently than ever before. Ilya and I want to prove to Brad, David and Shawn on March 21, 2009 (application deadline) that they should choose us, such that our experience with TechStars will last more than a day.